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Water Acoustics

Aquatic soundscapes are quite different from ordinary soundscapes in air, as the propagation of sound in various mediums is rather different. Underwater acoustics are interesting, as the sonic environment involves interactions between the water and inanimate objects as well as the marine life underneath. Human disturbances would also be worthwhile to investigate as they help shape the underwater soundscape. This project presents collection and qualitative analysis of the sounds of water from around the United States. The collection takes form in an exhibition on the Sonic Dictionary website and serves as a foundation for others interested the acoustic property of water to expand. The qualitative analysis takes form in modified, edited and overlaid tracks from the original collection and descriptive analysis based on the past work of experts in the field and observations of the original and edited recordings. By documenting these underwater soundscapes we can begin to piece together a sound map of several aquatic environments, which can help us observe changes and trends in underwater acoustical settings over space and time as more recordings are continuously added to the project. Through this process we can begin to discover the uses, properties, and roles of sound underwater and how alterations in the natural soundscape, such as anthropophonic sound and sound barriers, affect the marine environment. While noise pollution has been studied effusively, and received legislative backing since 1972, very little of those regulations apply beneath the surface. In order for this to change we must first document these environments.